1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a system, apparatus and method of providing access to at least one service corresponding to a reservation request. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system, apparatus and method of making reservations for multiple services online, receiving a configuration file on a user device based on the reservations, and accessing the services using the user device. When the user attempts to access the services, a terminal authenticates the user device based on the configuration file before providing access to the services.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the hospitality industry, enhancing customer satisfaction is a priority. Faced with increased industry competition, many hotel operators are looking for smarter ways to maximize customer satisfaction and generate more revenue from their properties. Expanding how hotel customers access available services has proven to be a successful strategy for many hotels. Such services may include reserving a room, reserving a taxi, reserving a conference room, selecting from digital content available via a television, reserving a game room or game console, making a spa appointment, ordering food, making travel reservations, reserving a hospitality suite, or a combination thereof.
By way of a non-limiting example, electronic devices such as televisions, game consoles, etc. play an important role in providing services via which hotels can generate income. Hotel televisions are generally available either as standalone devices, which are capable of accessing local channels and satellite or cable programming, or as interactive televisions, which are capable of providing services such as video on demand or other paid services including movies, music, adult content, etc.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the case of televisions as standalone devices, hotel administration may setup the televisions such that only channels or content added to each particular television can be accessed by users/guests. In this manner, the televisions are categorized based on available content and placed in different types of rooms accordingly (e.g., premium, deluxe or luxury).
In the alternative, as illustrated in FIG. 2, hotel administration can program one or more tuner cards 201, 203, 205 to provide access to one or more channels or types of content. The cards are inserted into a device or a remote controlling the device to provide access the channels or content.
In the case of televisions 310 as interactive devices, as shown in FIG. 3, whenever guests press a button on the remote to select a pay-per-view channel or view any VOD content, a request is sent to a server 320. The server processes the request and grants access once either payment is completed or a billing amount is added to the guest's bill in a Property Management Server (PMS)/billing server 330.
To access service devices which are not free to use, guests may obtain access cards 410 from a service counter. Each access card has an associated username and password limiting the service level and other parameters as illustrated in FIG. 4. After logging in to a service device 420 using a username and corresponding password, a billing amount based on usage is added to the PMS/billing server 330, and the guest pays the bill when checking out from the hotel.
From the above-discussed scenarios, it is clear that guests must either seek assistance from hotel administration or stand in queues to gain access to one or more services. Moreover, in order to access different services, different access cards may be required, which can be confusing as well as inconvenient. In addition, guests have no privacy when accessing services in an unfamiliar environment. Although a record of each service used is by each guest is recorded for billing purposes, guests may wish to keep such records private.
A further problem faced by the guests is that while accessing service devices, guests may be presented with unfamiliar menus and user interfaces when using devices provided by the hotel for accessing services, and it may be more time consuming for guests to use these unfamiliar menus and user interfaces in comparison to personalized menus or favorites lists available on devices installed at the guests' homes.
In addition, hotel administration also faces several disadvantages. One such disadvantage is that device configurations have to be managed separately for accessing various services. Extra hardware such as different remote controls, control devices, access cards and the like must be provided to guests. There is always a risk that guests may not return the hardware items, and further, guest information stored on the hardware items is not always secured.
A further challenge faced by hotel administration is that the PMS/billing server 330 has to be maintained separately for billing information. The total billing amount for each guest, which is to be paid upon checkout, is stored on the PMS server. Maintaining a PMS/billing server 330 adds extra expense to service providers. In addition, guests have to stand in a queue at a service counter to pay for such services upon checkout, which is inconvenient to guests and may result in a loss of revenue due to customer dissatisfaction.
Inventions have been made in the past few years to reduce the burden on the hotel industry and provide better-personalized services to guests. Some of such inventions have been disclosed in US2012/0220222, KR20100090868, US2013949576 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,793,784. US 2012/0220222 discloses a wireless communication system including an electronic device with a first near field communication (NFC) device and a player device configured to play media content. The wireless communication device includes a second NFC device configured to communicate with the first NFC device based upon proximity, and a controller cooperating with the second NFC device and configured to transmit preference play information to the electronic device via the first NFC device. The player device is configured to play selected media content based upon the preference play information.
With the wireless communication system of US 2012/0220222, drawbacks include maintaining play configurations in individual player devices only, and the system does not include maintaining, arranging and authorizing multiple devices and their display contents and other parameters. In addition, many devices cannot be managed separately at the same time, and separate playback information cannot be loaded to devices based on choice. There is no categorization of preferred play information, which decreases usability of the devices in hospitality or Business-to-Business (B2B) environments. It is more or less fit for personal use only. Further, the mobile devices of the wireless system are very complicated and costly, and users are unable to obtain desired content using simple and inexpensive devices which do not require power, such as NFC tags.
KR20100090868 relates to a method of transmitting a user environment stored in a mobile terminal to an image display device. According to this invention, when the user uses a new image display device, the user can set the user environment on the new image display device according to the user environment of a previously used device.
The drawbacks associated with KR20100090868 are that it is limited to devices having similar internal SW/HW settings and is not applicable to multiple device types. In addition, there is no flexibility of services. Only user environments (internal configurations such as favorite channels, window, brightness, etc.) are disclosed.
US2014/0053189 discloses an apparatus for providing a personalized home screen, in which the apparatus includes a user identification unit configured to receive user identification information comprising login information and biometric information of a user and a home screen processing unit configured to identify the user by comprising the received user identification information with a collection of user personal information of multiple users and searching for user personal information corresponding to the received user identification information, and to display a personalized home screen based on the user personalization information of the identified user.
Drawbacks associated with US2013949576 are that devices are limited to providing only personalized user interfaces. User identification is based on prior saved information, and only a user interface corresponding to the user is launched. The invention discloses arranging a home screen (boot screen) on an image display device, more specifically a TV. However, the invention does not disclose arranging display contents and services.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,793,784 relates to lock devices electrically controlled by means of a dematerialized and encrypted key, wherein such key can be conveyed by a portable object held by a user, such as a portable phone, a contactless badge or card, etc. The invention is limited to physical security or authentication by having a control key in a personal device for opening a lock, and the control key is transmitted through NFC. In addition, devices handled are single lock devices.
Keeping in view all of the above, there is an unmet need for providing an improved system, apparatus and method of providing personalized services to customers in hospitality or B2B environments that address one or more of the problems identified above.
Apart from overcoming the disadvantages discussed above, one object of the present invention is to provide access to at least one service corresponding to a reservation request made by a user online. Further, the user may access the services via one or more NFC enabled service devices by tapping a personal/portable device of the user to the one or more NFC enabled service devices.
Another object of the invention is to enable hospitality and Business-to-Business (B2B) industries to provide services to a user in advance of user arrival. Service providers or hotel administration can display available content & services by means of a mobile application or a hotel website. A user can reserve any of the displayed services or content and then receive a configuration file on a user device based on the reservations. Service devices can be configured according to the user's reservations when the user taps the user device of the user to the one or more NFC enabled service devices.
Another object of the invention is that a user will not have to scroll through User Interface (UI) options in order to access content of their choice on service devices such as a television. When the user taps a user device to a service device, the service device will arrange and display contents and items according to the user's pre-booked choices, increasing convenience and improving customer satisfaction. Using service devices configured according to the user's preferences will allow users to feel as if they are using their own devices having personalized content.
Another object of the present invention is to provide enterprise mobility and an integrated payment system. Enterprises will not have to maintain Property Management Server (PMS) servers to maintain runtime-billing information according to an exemplary embodiment.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide privacy to guests at a hotel. Generally, billing information for content & services may indicate content watched, services accessed, and billing amount corresponding to the guest's stay, and guests may wish to keep such records private. With a combined integrated billing system, the accessed services will be known only to the guest.
Another object of the present disclosure is to remove the requirement for in-person assistance or any other hurdles in an unfamiliar environment. All services can be booked in advance and can be accessed with personal device. A user does not have to stand in a queue at service counters, call a service representative to gain access to a room or service, manually enter passwords, or maintain numerous documents, pay slips or currency.